Christmas Recipe Favorites

I'm mixing things up today. If you've been hanging around long, you know I'm not one to offer up recipes. That's simply because cooking is not my gift/talent. It tends to be something I do out of necessity...wouldn't want my little ones starving, now would I?

Anyway, I've found several go-to recipes that help get me through our Christmas gatherings. One thing you can count on is that these recipes are easy! So, if you're in a pinch, go ahead and add these to your list. Yummy, festive and quick...does it get any better?

I made this little appetizer for a party several weeks back and they didn't disappoint. I'm a sucker for anything cranberry. I used spinach tortillas to kick it up a notch in the red/green Christmas color scheme department!

Cranberry Feta Pinwheels {via food.com}

Ingredients:
1 (170 g) package dried sweetened cranberries
1 (250 g) container cream cheese spread
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup chopped green onion
4 large flour tortillas or 4 large wheat flour tortillas or 4 large spinach tortillas


Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients except tortillas, mix well.
2. Divide and spread mixture evenly among tortillas.
3. Roll up tightly, wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least one hour.
4. To serve cut into 12 slices.
5. A nice variation is to add thin slices of ham on top of the spread before rolling.

We're done with appetizers, now it's time to move onto dinner...

Tortilla Soup is quite possibly my favorite food on this earth. Seriously, it's the only thing I order when we go to Mexican food restaurants. I like to think of myself as a tortilla soup connoisseur! 

I started making Rachael Ray's recipe several years ago and it's now one of our Christmas traditions. After the festivities have died down, my parents and father-in-law come over for a big 'ol bowl of soup. Love it!

Rachael Ray's Tortilla Soup {via foodnetwork.com}

Ingredients

• Vegetable or corn oil, for drizzling, plus 2 tablespoons -- 2 turns of the pot in a slow stream
• 3 ears corn on the cob or 2 ears fresh-frozen cobs, defrosted
• 1 red bell pepper, split and seeded
• 1 pound chicken breast tenders
• 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning, 1/3 palm full
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1/3 palm full
• Salt and pepper
• 1 small to medium zucchini, small dice
• 1 medium yellow skinned onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 to 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (medium to hot heat level), chopped -- available in small cans in Mexican and Spanish food section of market
• 1 (28-ounce) can stewed tomatoes
• 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
• 3 cups chicken stock, available in re-sealable paper containers on soup aisle
• 4 cups blue corn tortilla chips, broken up into large pieces
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar or pepper jack cheese
• 1/2 cup sour cream

Garnishes:

• 1/4 red raw onion, chopped
• 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro or parsley leaves
• 1 ripe avocado, diced and dressed with the juice of 1/2 lemon

Directions

Heat a grill pan to high and a soup pot to medium-high. Drizzle oil on corn and place on grill pan. Add red pepper to grill with corn. Char vegetables 10 minutes, total, turning occasionally. Remove to cool, 5 minutes. Remove charred skin from the pepper.

While vegetables cook, dice chicken. Add 2 tablespoons oil to hot soup pot. Add chicken to pot. Season with poultry seasoning, cumin, salt and pepper. Lightly brown the chicken. Add zucchini, onions, garlic and chipotle peppers. Cook vegetables with chicken 5 to 7 minutes to soften. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce and stock. Bring soup to a bubble, reduce heat to medium low.

Scrape corn off cob and add to soup. Chop grilled red pepper and stir into soup. Add chips to soup in handfuls and fold in. Serve soup immediately with scatter of shredded cheese and a dollop of sour cream. Top with any or all of the suggested garnishes.

Yay, dessert! This recipe literally was added to my stash yesterday. I saw this yumminess over at Celeste and Pearl and gave it a try. One word...sinful! 

Paula Deen's Red Velvet Gooey Butter Cookies 

I N G R E D I E N T S :
8oz. (1 brick) Cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 c. Butter, softened (1 stick)
1 egg
1 t. Vanilla
1 (18-ounce) box red velvet cake mix
Powdered sugar, for rolling/dusting

Jump on over to Celeste and Pearl for the remainder of this recipe.

Hope these help you out, friends. We're traveling this weekend to see my brother and his family. I'm still trying to wrap my brain around the fact that Christmas is here. Didn't 2012 just begin? When did we start living in warp-speed?!

Enjoy your weekend!